Daily loss limits: rules I actually share

[LondonScalper]

People ask me about daily loss limits often enough that I wrote down the version I share. Nothing on the list is theoretical; I use every line.

1. The limit is written in two forms: as R and as money. R keeps it consistent across position sizes. The money figure is what makes it feel real.
2. There is a soft stop before the hard stop. Mine is at 2R of a 3R daily limit. At the soft stop, I stop opening new trades and only manage what is already open.
3. News losses count. If a spike takes me out during a release, that loss goes against the limit like any other.
4. A winner does not reset anything. If I am down 2R, win 1R, and am down 1R overall, I still have only the original limit, not a fresh start.
5. When the hard limit is hit, the platform gets closed, not minimised. Reviewing charts "for learning" afterwards usually leads to one more trade.
6. The limit changes only on weekends, in writing, with a reason.

That is all. None of it is clever. The hard part is not the rules but following rule four and five on the days you most want to break them. Every exception I have made was on a bad day, and almost every one made the day worse.

[Shadow Trader]

Your soft stop before the hard stop is the line I would not drop. Mine sits at 2R of a 3R daily limit, and once I hit it I manage open trades only. New tickets wait for the next session.

The winner does not reset anything rule is the one I broke most often in the first year. Being down 2R, winning 1R, then trading as if I had a fresh 3R left turned soft days into hard ones.

I write the limit in R and in money on the same card. R keeps size changes honest; the money figure is what stops me treating a bad morning as abstract.

News losses count the same as any other. A spike that takes a stop during a release still lands against the day, because otherwise I would start parking size into prints I should flat.

When the hard limit hits, the platform closes, not minimises. Reviewing charts for learning afterwards was how I used to sneak one more ticket in.

My soft stop also shortens the session clock, not only the ticket list. Does yours cut the session short, or only block new entries?

[Shadow Trader]

LondonScalper, the open trade problem at soft stop is the edge case my card now spells out. If I am down 2R on closed trades and still hold a winner floating 0.8R, soft stop still blocks new tickets, and I trail the open one to entry.

Overnight inventory counts toward the daily limit from the moment the new day opens on the server clock. A gap against a hold can burn soft stop before I place a single London ticket, so most holds need a written exception the night before.

Weekend changes get a reason and a before after pair on the card. Last change was 3R hard down to 2.5R after Fridays kept leaking, and the old number stayed visible for a quarter.

News losses counting the same still stands. The bit I added is that a news loss that hits hard stop ends the platform the same way, with no learning review exception.

I still cut the session clock at soft stop, usually no new risk after the hit plus a thirty minute manage only window.

How do you treat a floating winner larger than the closed loss when soft stop hits? I refuse to count it as progress toward resetting anything.